One of the cool things about doing the book reviews for WKAR’s Current State and this website is when I discover a book or author that might have slipped through the literary cracks if it wasn’t for that review copy in my hand. A little bit of an unexpected treasure. And some publisher just sent it to me? For free? Sweet…

While I don’t love writing a bad review (even though I can have an eerie Dorothy Parker-esque talent for it from time to time), writing a good book review is a lot of fun. Many times, it is difficult for me to edit the review down to the necessary length. I’m gushing about the book, and I want to gush more. It’s a gush-tornado!

Here are seven books I’ve done over the years that I recommend you check out (and the links to my reviews):

For the last year, I’ve been working with an agent on my latest novel (which I still can’t talk about here). I really hope we are close to locking down the book soon. Whatever the case, I can easily promise it will be ready before the next book by George R.R. Martin.

Anyway, all of that jazz has distracted me from this website. And it might distract me for a little while to go (including my work on Uses of This World). So until I can find time to write something new here, I’ll be sharing something from time to time. Bear with me, this will all pay off in the long run, I am sure of it.

I’ve had the pleasure on WKAR to review quite a few classics on their morning show Current State. I love classic literature so these were the moments I savored like a great meal. The kind of meals with a half-dozen courses and they give you a nice mint at the end.

Yes, I devoured the new Harry Potter book in less than two hours. Here is my review with only MINOR SPOILERS.

On my book review page, you can find the reviews I have done on WKAR as well as reviews I have done on the site over the last three years. Almost 80 different books, contemporary to classic, genre to literary fiction. I hope you will check them out.

If you are interested in reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (and you sholud be) you can find it on amazon here.

–

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

When the war is over and the last battle has been won, we like our heroes to ride off into the sunset. They have earned the peace. Of course, the snag with that earned peace is that there is nothing more to say. Plain and simple, you need conflict for a story. A hero without an adventure to back him up is just any old normal dude… even when he has a cool lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

After the epic seven years that span the Harry Potter series, our young hero definitely earned a break. He had lost family, friends, and heroes in his quest to destroy the evil he-who-must-not-be-named, Lord Voldemort. When we last saw Harry he was older, saying goodbye to his two sons on Platform 9 3/4 and watching as they race off to start their own studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. To emphasize the story was done, even his scar was just a scar.

Yet, we can’t let our young boy who grew up under the stairs go. We gave him almost twenty years of peace, it’s time for some wizarding action. Wands out! Just released, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling (with John Tiffany and Jack Thorne) is something a little different and still the same. This is the continuing story of our boy wizard and he is dealing with something many parents deal with, a conflicted and jaded teenager. Continue reading →

This is a book I didn’t get a chance to review on WKAR’s Current Strate. And since it is a few month’s since its release it didn’t feel fair keeping it locked away. I hope you enjoy this new book review for Why We Came to the City by Kristopher Jansma. (And if you would like to check out the book for yourself, you can find it on amazon here.)

–

When you are in your twenties, sometimes it can feel like the world is your oyster and ripe with possibilities. This feeling is definitely true for the group of friends that make up the center of Why We Came to the City by Kristopher Jansma. At the beginning of the story, they are sneaking into elite art parties in New York City, complaining about the more successful, and passing out on couches… many times not their own.

At the heart of the story is Irene. She is a young artist with a hidden past. Even her closest friends don’t even know her real name, yet there is something about her that is fascinating to all that meet her. She searches through garbage looking for things for her art, and writes messages in books that she hopes others will find in time. And everyone seems to know her in the Big Apple. Continue reading →

If you want to check out Miller’s Valley, you can find it on amazon here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page. Continue reading →

If you want to check out The Turner House, you can find it on amazon here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page. Continue reading →

One of my favorite things to do on WKAR is talk about new books that really impress me. Some like to believe book reviewers get more pleasure out of negative reviews, but that has never been the case for me. So today was a highpoint for me as I take on My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout.

If you want to check out My Name is Lucy Barton, you can find it on amazon here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page. Continue reading →

If you want to check out Where My Heart Used to Beat, you can find it on amazon here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page. Continue reading →

If you want to check out Mr. Splitfoot, you can find it on amazon here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page. Continue reading →